Simplifying Numbers

How do you reduce or simplify this number 2100/1050?

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Jun 11, 2010
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by: Karin

This number is an improper fraction. This means that the numerator (top number) is larger than the denominator (bottom number). Therefore, this number can be changed to a mixed number or a whole number because it is larger than 1.

You might notice that if you double (or multiply by 2) 1050, you end up with the numerator, 2100. Therefore, the answer is 2.

Or, you may not realize that instantly, so you might start simplifying by thinking of the largest number that is divisible by the numerator and denominator. Since both numbers end with a 0, both numbers are divisible by 10.

Therefore,


2100/10 210
------- = --------
1050/10 105

Now, you may notice that 105 is half of 210, which means that the answer is 2. If you don't realize this, then you can think of a number that is divisible by the numerator and denominator, like 5.

210/5 = 42
----- ----
105/5 21

Now, hopefully you would see that 21 is half of 42, so the answer is 2.

Obviously, the answer is 2. However, if you couldn't realize that from the beginning, I've broken it down into smaller steps that will eventually lead the correct answer.

Remember that if the numerator is larger than the denominator, then the answer will be larger than 1, so you can always divide.

2100/1050 = 2.

I hope this helps,
Karin

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